The Editorial Page: Between US and Saudi Arabia, Israel is the elephant in the room 8 WeDneSDAy, nOveMbeR 19, 2025 JournalIsm of CouraGe AhMEDAbAD, lATE CITy, 20 PAGES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I ly f R o M : A h M E DA b A D , C h A N D I GA R h , D E l h I , j A I P U R , ko l k ATA , l U C k N o W , M U M b A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D o DA R A happening today resPonsiBLe for sPate of deadLy attaCks on seCUrity forCes lUkrainian President Most wanted Maoist commander Hidma killed in Andhra forest op lChairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister will speak on Day 1 of Delhi School of Economics’ Public Policy Conference. Had fled Chhattisgarh; was shot dead along with his wife and four others after security forces encircled them traCk these and more on www.indianexPress.Com sreenivas janyala, jayprakash s naidu & nikhila henry Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Turkey in an attempt to jump-start negotiations on ending Russia’s invasion. for the record the 6th ramnath goenka lecture: excerPts Page 13 Business as usual by eP Unny Hyderabad, Raipur, November 18 MADVI HIDMA (51), the most wanted leader left within the Naxal ranks and the man responsibleforsomeofthebloodiest attacks on security forces, was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning. Amit bardar, Superintendent of Police, Alluri Sitarama Rajudistrict,toldTheIndianExpress that Hidma alias Santosh, his wife and four others were fleeingfromChhattisgarhwhen theyweresurroundedbysecurityforcesintheMaredumilliforest between 6 am and 7 am. “For the past few weeks, inputs from the Andhra Pradesh Special Intelligence bureau have specifically indicated the movement of Maoists near the AndhraPradesh-ChhattisgarhOdisha border and, based on Andhra Pradesh Intelligence Chief Mahesh Chandra ladda briefs media about the operation. top Maoist Madvi Hidma Chhattisgarh Mathili Sukma Dornapal Odisha Area of the encounter Maredumilli Andhra Pradesh those inputs, we operated and got this success,” said a top officer. Hidma was a Central Committee member and leader of »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Ruthless tactician, biggest influence on cadre: Killing a big blow to Maoists jayprakash s naidu, deeptiman tiwary & srinivas janyala Raipur, New Delhi, Hyderabad, November 18 FOR NEARly three decades, the name Madvi Hidma had travelled through the forests of bastar. On Tuesday, that shadowy figure, the Maoists’ most feared battlefield commander and their only tribal leader to rise from a child recruit to the organisation’s top decision-making bodies, was killed in an encounter with the Andhra Pradesh police. His death, officials say, may bethesinglebiggestblowtothe CPI (Maoist) in the last 20 years, not merely because he was a ruthless tacticianresponsiblefor the bloodiest attacks on security forces, but because he was the last influential figure left in a move- E. SC recalls own order barring retrospective green nod for projects 2-1 verdict; step in retrogression: Dissenting judge ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, November 18 CITING PUblIC interest and legal flaws, the Supreme Court, in a 2-1 decision Tuesday, recalleditsMay16rulingthathad struck down a Central government notification allowing grant of environmental clearance (EC) for projects ex post facto — in short, clearance for projects after commencement. While Chief Justice of India b R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran backed the recall, Justice Ujjal bhuyan dissented saying the majority decision “overlookstheveryfundamentals of environmental jurisprudence” and “is a step in retrogression”. The matter will now be placedbeforetheCJIforfurther action. Tuesday’sdecisioncameon a petition filed by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers of India (CREDAI) and applications by the Steel Authority of India (SAIl) and State of Karnataka, seeking review of the May 16 verdict in Vanashakti vs Union of India, delivered by a bench of Justices A S Oka and Justices bhuyan — Justice Oka has since retired. The May 16 ruling also struck down a 2021 Office Memorandumissuedinpursuanceofthe 2017 notification. During the hearing, it was pointed out to the court that 24 projectsalreadyinitiated,involving expenditure to the tune of Rs 8,293 crore, were awaiting EC at the Central level, while at thestatelevel,29projectsworth Rs 11,168 crore remained pending. These included construction of hospitals/medical colleges/airports including the »ContinUed on PaGe 2 saudi crown Prince in u.s. to meet trumP the saudi de facto ruler is seeking to rehabilitate his global image after the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal khashoggi Page 17 l hunt for hidma: ‘he was our nemesis once’ P14 ment struggling with age, exhaustion, and irrelevance. Making of the myth Hidma’s story begins in »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Aheadof swearing-in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with son Nishant Kumar at his residence in Patna. PTI the jd(U) Leader on Tuesday took stock of preparations for the oath-taking ceremony of the new NDA government in the state. The event is scheduled to take place at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. the nda Partners were busy resolving a deadlock over the Assembly Speaker’s post ahead of the swearing-in ceremony. relAted rePOrtS, PAge 12 Leaders of Hasina party slam death penalty, say ‘India must help our fight’ Say want to go back, fight polls but level-playing field needed ritu sarin New Delhi, November 18 ADAyafterformerbangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was awarded the death penalty by an International Crimes Tribunal, and Dhaka asked Delhi to send her back, leaders ofherAwamileaguepartywho are in undisclosed locations said they can only return if there is “political inclusion” and that they expect India to continue giving her shelter, as well as “honour” and “security”. TheIndianExpressspoketo several Awami league leaders and former MPs — about hundred of them are living in exile, with an equal number along with thousands of party cadres behind bars in bangladesh. Four-time MP Nahim Razzaq, who talks about the attempt to “finish off ” Awami league with a ban, criminal cases against its leaders, targeting of their families, and a freeze on their bank accounts, says the verdict against Hasina has in fact “suddenly motivated” them. The former PM was sentenced to death for “crimes against humanity”, along with former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on similar charges. “We know going back to bangladesh is a challenge, but if the ban on the party is lifted and we are granted bail in the cases against us, the cadre and the leadership are raring to go,” said Razzaq. All Awami league leaders said it was a matter of time before the interim government headed by Prof Muhammad yunus crumbles. Former TextilesandJuteministerJahangir Kabir Nanok said no election held with yunus at the helm would be credible. “He has to resign.Theseniorleadersofthe Awami league are clear about the fact that we will not participate in polls under him,” said Nanok,amemberofthePresidium of the Awami league Central Committee. OnwhatleaderslikehimexpectfromIndia,Nanok,71,said that as “our friend and »ContinUed on PaGe 2 riCin terror PLot On Umar phone, a video in which Prime accused injured in ‘fight with he speaks of suicide bombing other prisoners’ at Sabarmati jail express news service Ahmedabad, November 18 the world the big picture awami LeaGUe in exiLe THE MAIN accused in the alleged Ricin terror plot busted by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed (Jilani), was on Tuesday injured allegedly during a fight between the three accused in the terror case with three local undertrial prisoners in the high security area of the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad. He was Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed takentoAhmedabadCivilHospital and brought back to the jail after treatment, officers said. The incident took place around7am,saidPrisonSuperintendent Gaurav Agrawal. Saiyed, accused by the ATS of attempting to isolate the highly toxic chemical agent Ricin from castor beans (Ricinus communis) to carry out a “major terror attack” in India, was in jail for less than 12 hours before the three were allegedly involved in an altercation with three other local undertrial »ContinUed on PaGe 2 alok singh & Bashaarat masood New Delhi, Srinagar, November 18 INAvideoclipthathassurfaced onsocialmedia,UmarNabi,the doctor who drove the car that exploded near the Red Fort on November 10, is heard talking about“martyrdomoperations” and “suicide bombing”. In the 1-minute-20-second clip, Umar, sitting on a chair in a room, is heard saying “one of the most misunderstood con- Blast accused Umar Nabi cepts is the concept of suicide bombing… It is a martyrdom operation. When a person assumes that he is certain to die at a particular place and time, he goes against the presumption that he will die in a specific situation”. While the Delhi Police said it is verifying the video clip, investigators probing the terror module that Umar was part of saidthecliphadbeenextracted from his mobile phone. Highly placed sources told The Indian Express that Umar had handed over the phone to his younger brother, who was picked up by the Jammu and Kashmir Police from his »ContinUed on PaGe 2 FIlMMAKer’S SON SAyS wAS tO SHOwCASe dIgItAlly reStOred verSION OF tHe ACClAIMed FIlM At FeStIvAl CBFC exemption pending, Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata out of IFFI Goa divya a issues pertaining to “CbFC exemption”, brook tells TheIndian Express over the phone “IT’S AS if someone invited me from Paris. for dinner and made other A CbFC exemption is an plans,” says Simon brook. exemption from standard cerDays from now, brook was tification granted to films for to present a digitally restored screening in India by the Cenversion of his father Peter tral board of Film Certification brook’sacclaimedfilmTheMa- (CbFC), which functions under habharata at the International theInformationandbroadcastFilmFestivalofIndia ing Ministry. pAge 1 (IFFI) in Goa. HowSources said it is ever,thescreeningof usually a quick forthe film, which was mality. cited by the NDA government After weeks of back and while rewarding Peter brook forth on the issue, which left with a Padma Shri in 2021, now him “feeling confused about standscancelledowingtosome thewayforward”,brooksayshe New Delhi, November 18 anchor was finally informed over the weekend that since the film had not got CbFC exemption yet, and IFFI was to begin in days, the screening would not be happening this time. Sources say the film was screened for an internal review committee twice before it was selected for the Restored Classics Section of IFFI. On October 30, IFFI posted on its X handle about showing the film on November 24, saying: “Discover how the 8K restoration of Peter brook’s The Mahabharata (1989)redefinescinematicpreservation and connects ancient epics to the modern world.” the Mahabharata last screened in India around two decades ago Emails sent to the offices of CbFC Chairman Prasoon Joshi and CbFC CEO Rajendra Singh regarding CbFC exemption, as wellastotheIndianHighCommissioner in london, did not get a response. brook, who is also a filmmaker, says that it was in July this year, after the classic — digitally restored in 8K — was showcased and had its premiere at the Indian Film Festival in london, that he was contacted about a possible screening at IFFI. The film festival is the annual flagship event of the I&b Ministry. InAugust,brookgotanofficial invite over email from the festival organisers, saying they wanted to screen The Mahabharata as the opening film in theRestoredClassicssection.It coincided with the birth cen- tenary of Peter brook, who passedawayin2022,andwould have been a tribute to him. brook says he was also invited to hold a masterclass during IFFI on the process of restoration, and for other appearances at the nine-day festival. brook says he was more than happy to bring the film to Goa, with The Mahabharata last screened in India around two decades ago. An international production released in 1989 and involving actors from 16 nationalities — including artist Mallika Sarabhai as Draupadi, and ac- torsGeorgesCorraface,Vittorio Mezzogiorno and bruce Myers in key roles — The Mahabharata had got rave reviews in India and abroad, for depicting the universal themes of the Indian epic. The Mahabharata first began as a play, co-written and directed by Peter brook, and staged between 1985 and 1989 as a nine-hour production. In 1989,anearlysix-hourabridged adaptation was made as a television miniseries, and later edited into a nearly three-hour cut for theatrical release. Simon brook says he first »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Ahmedabad